


Hop's little El

by RoyalMileven



Series: You are my hero, Dad. [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Family Bonding, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Mileven background, no powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 16:48:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15417309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyalMileven/pseuds/RoyalMileven
Summary: A story in which Jim Hopper finds a little girl and adopts her eventually.Starring: Jim Hopper, aka the best Dad





	Hop's little El

Jim Hopper watched his adoptive daughter fell asleep as he read to her a story about the Frog Prince. She's been with him only for two months, she still didn't trust him, but they were getting at a point that she could at least sleep normally.

Eleanor Brenner, now El Hopper, was a daughter of a cruel man who mentally and physically abused her. One day it was too much and he killed her mother, almost killed even her. She somehow managed to run away, deep into the woods, ten miles from Brenner's house. That night Hopper has found her. El was afraid of him. No, she was afraid of all men. Brenner really blew her mind.

With help of Joyce Byers who seemed like a person El liked at the first sight, they at least knew something from her. All she said was "Eleanor, Papa, bad men, Brenner, Mama". She was afraid of even a thought that some man could touch her. The first month, she was with Joyce who was taking care of her. El got closer to Will, Joyce's son. He showed her that he won't do anything to her and gave her his favorite toy. From that moment, she stopped being scared around the Byers.

But she was still unsure around Hopper, until one night she had a nightmare. El was screaming, crying, she just couldn't wake up from her bad dream. Hopper found her in her bed, shaking.

_"Kid," Hopper kneeled next to her bed, the floor creaked a little. He gently shook her shoulder, waking her up. El opened her eyes widely, shocked that somebody touched her, and she moved on the other side of the bed quickly._

_"I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" he whispered and raised his hands up to prove it to her. Tears were still falling down her face and it made him so heartbroken when he saw her like that._

_She swallowed, taking the blanket to her. El wrapped herself in the blanket, using it as some kind of armor. "You are safe. I won't hurt you," Hopper said quietly._

_"You can tell me what that nightmare was about?" the man asked her, still sitting on the ground. It gave him so many flashbacks to Sara who died only four years ago._

_El looked around the room in a panic, she probably wanted to make sure that she wasn't at her 'home' anymore. "Papa." Hopper didn't hear her, her voice was so quiet, but thanks to her mimic he knew what was going on._

_"I'm not him. He won't get to you, okay? Over my rotting corpse, kid. If he does, I'll kill that son-" he stopped when he saw El's brown eyes widening._

_"Don't worry. You are with me, safe. If you want, I can call Joyce to get here, huh?" the girl shook her head in 'no'._

_Hopper looked around, thinking of a way how to calm the girl. "Um. What about Eggos and story?" he asked her._

_She didn't do anything for a few seconds. Then, she nodded slowly and he smiled. "Good. Here," he grabbed the fairytale book from the night table and put it on the bed. "Choose some story while I will make Eggos, yes?"_

_El smiled a little at him, nodding again. He was surprised when she smiled, but it was a beautiful surprise. Hopper smiled back, before leaving the room._

"Goodnight, kid." he moved her brown curly hair from her face, kissed her forehead and covered her with a blanket, then put next to her the teddy bear.

\---

"Well yeah, she is a little shy." the Chief nodded. They stood in front of the class. El should be in the first grade now. The girl was holding his police jacket tightly, as Hopper was holding her pink school backpack with butterflies on it. When he and Joyce were buying it, he was arguing with her. Damn, that backpack is twice bigger than his daughter!

El looked at Mrs. Lowell quietly, saying nothing. The teacher nodded knowingly. "I see," he kneeled in front of El. "Hello, Eleanor-"

"It's El." Hopper interrupted her.

Mrs. Lowell sighed. "Hello, El. My name is Clarissa Lowell. I teach here. Everybody calls me Mrs. Lowell, so should you, alright? Are you excited to see your classmates?" the teacher smiled at her. El glanced at Hopper, then back at the teacher and shook her head.

Hopper and Joyce were teaching El how to write and speak a little. She really spoke a little and just in front of them. But she loved to read, especially a book for little children which she has read like for five times already. "You aren't? But there are good kids, too."

The girl looked at the teacher. "Will?" she asked quietly.

"Yes! Will Byers for example. You know him?" El nodded.

The Chief sighed. "Joyce and I have found her a year ago, so..."

"Oh, I get it. So, are ready for the class, El?" Mrs. Lowell exclaimed with a huge smile. The girl bit her lip. Her dad sighed and put the backpack down which he had on his back. He kneeled next to her and grabbed her hands. "You don't have to worry, okay? Will be there. You know our rules. If anything happens, go to Will."

El nodded quietly and Hopper continued. "All you need is in your backpack. Listen carefully to Mrs. Lowell. And when the school ends, I'll be waiting for you. We can buy Eggos and I will make you triple-decker Eggo extravaganza. What do you say, huh?"

"Promise?" she whispered before her big brown eyes looked at him. Every time she would look at him like this, he would do anything for her. Hopper gently ruffled her hair and nodded. "Yes, I promise."

Before he could do anything, El hugged him. He always softened around her. The Chief hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. "I'll be waiting for you at three, okay?" he took off his watch which he got from his father years ago. Jim gently put them around her wrist, even though they were big for her, it seemed like the Hoppers didn't care.

"Three," El said, glancing at the watch.

"Yes. I have to go to work now. You have to go to class. I promise it won't be so bad."

She smiled at him and nodded. Mrs. Lowell couldn't stop grinning. "Okay, so let's go to the class. Goodbye, Mr. Hopper."

"Goodbye," he said, waving at El who waved back.

\---

"I don't know, Joyce. I just hope she's okay." Hopper sighed, leaning against his car. Joyce who was next to him rolled her eyes and chuckled. "You are overprotective, Hop."

"She's my daughter! And look, none of these groups of girls seem like they could actually like El." he frowned. They were looking for El in the crowd of kids running from the school. "She's different, Joyce."

"Maybe, but I'm sure she'll find some friends."

"El barely speaks! What if some of these... little monsters did something to her?" he asked nervously. Joyce laughed next to him, shaking her head. Hopper glared at Joyce.

They stayed quiet for the next few minutes before Joyce pointed at the group of five kids at the door of the school. "Look, there!" she whispered-yelled excitedly. Hopper turned to them and studied the group for a while, then he saw his daughter. She was the shortest one in the group and the only girl. "She's a friend with  _boys_?"       

"These are Will's friends." Joyce smiled. El was laughing. Like actually laughing. Two boys next to her, one with a chocolate dark skin and one with a baseball hat on his curly hair were making funny faces at her. "She's laughing," he said, it was still so unbelievable for him.

"I said you don't have to worry. They are good kids." the woman next to him tapped his shoulder with a smile. Hopper blinked for a few times but then grinned. The group stopped in front of the bike racks. The three of them, the two boys who were making her laugh and one who was speaking with Will earlier, sat on the bikes, waved at Will and El and rode away.

The two kids started walking towards their parents, El still had a smile on her face. "Hey!" Joyce greeted them. "How was in school, huh?"

"Good," they answered at the same time. "That's great," Hopper grinned at her and opened the door to his truck. She was too short to climb in there, so he grabbed her and seated her there. "Ready to go home?"

El nodded. "Bye Will and Joyce!" she waved at them.

"Bye." the Byers started walking to Joyce's car. Hopper closed the door at El's side of the car, then sat behind the wheel. He leaned against it and raised her eyebrows at her. "Do you need help with your homework?"

"No," El said. "Mike helped me earlier."

"Who's Mike?" Hopper frowned at her. El smiled a little. "Friend."

Jim shook his head. "Friend? A boy?"

"A nice boy." she nodded.

Hopper sighed, not expecting that. But yes sure, whatever made her happy.


End file.
